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A general accused of human rights abuses in Chechnya has been appointed chief commander of the elite airborne troops, the Defense Ministry said Monday.
Lieutenant General Vladimir Shamanov, a veteran of both Chechen wars, is to take over as commander of the airborne troops "in the coming days," ministry spokesman Alexander Drobyshevsky told Interfax.
Shamanov will replace Valery Yevtukhovich, who was relieved of his duties by President Dmitry Medvedev in May because he had turned 55, the maximum age for his rank.
Shamanov has been heading the ministry's department for combat training since late 2007.
Human rights organizations have said troops under Shamanov's command in Chechnya committed atrocities against civilians. In one instance, up to 40 people died when his troops stormed the Chechen village of Alkhan Yurt in 1999, human rights investigators said.
Shamanov was elected governor of Ulyanovsk in 2000 but did not seek re-election under Kremlin pressure.
Shamanov met U.S. President George W. Bush in March 2007 in his capacity as a co-chair of a U.S.-Russian commission on missing soldiers, a visit that embarrassed the White House after it learned of the abuse allegations.
General Accused of Abuses Named Top Paratrooper
26 May 2009
The Moscow Times
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